November 30, 2011

Writer & humorist Mark Twain is born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in the small town of Florida, Missouri. (He will be raised in Hannibal, Missouri.) Walt Disney admired Twain's writing and so the famous author's name and image can be found scattered throughout Disney theme parks all over the world.

Tom Sawyer Island - based on Twain's classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - is the only Disneyland attraction that Walt personally designed!

Disneyland also features the Mark Twain Riverboat, which takes guests on a 12-minute journey around the Rivers of America.

Both Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland have versions of the Mark Twain Riverboat as well.

In Florida, Mr. Twain appears in Epcot's Audio-Animatronic stage show The American Adventure, and the Magic Kingdom features a version of Tom Sawyer Island (located in Frontierland).

Disney's 1990 animated The Prince and the Pauper is loosely based on Twain's classic novel The Prince and the Pauper, first published in 1881.

In 1991 The Disney Channel aired the Disney Channel Premiere Film Mark Twain and Me, about a young girl who befriends the famous writer.

November 25, 2011

Coca-Cola sponsored the
first Disney television show, One Hour in Wonderland, which aired as a
special on December 25, 1950. When Disneyland opened in 1955, Coke
became a participant with the Refreshment Corner on Main Street, U.S.A.,
and remains a participant there today. Coca-Cola is now the global
beverage provider for all of Disney's 11 parks in the U.S., Hong Kong,
France and Japan.

November 22, 2011

"You can only find them one place: in Frontierland in the Magic Kingdom
at Frontierland Pretzel Wagon between the Diamond Horseshoe and Pecos
Bill Cafe (next to the turkey leg cart). Pair the twist with cheese and
chocolate dipping sauces. Insiders tell us it’s still in “testing
phase” at Walt Disney World Resort, but we bet it’s here to stay.

You also can find it at Disneyland park at Refreshment Corner, Bengal Barbecue, Frontierland Pretzel, Small World Pretzel and Tomorrowland Pretzel. At Disney California Adventure Park, they are sold at Bayside Brews, the Beer Truck and Hollywood Pretzel."

November 18, 2011

Mickey Mouse was created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. He was voiced by Walt Disney from 1928–1946 theatrically, and again from 1955–1959 for the original ABC TV The Mickey Mouse Club television series. The Walt Disney Company celebrates his birth as November 18, 1928, upon the release of Steamboat Willie which was released at the Colony Theater in New York on Nov. 18, 1928, although Mickey had already appeared six months earlier in an unfinished test screening of Plane Crazy (Steamboat Willie being the first Mickey Mouse Cartoon to be released).